Explaining the New COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Health Care Provider Staff December 15, 2021 Issue Brief This issue brief examines the new regulations, explains the status of the pending litigation, and identifies issues to watch.
New Analysis of Historical Rates of Medicaid Enrollment Churn Sheds Light on the Implications for the End of the Continuous Enrollment Requirement Tied to Pandemic Funding December 14, 2021 News Release For more than a year-and-a-half, the continuous enrollment requirement tied to enhanced Medicaid funding during the COVID-19 pandemic has all but halted enrollment “churn,” the temporary loss of coverage in which people disenroll from Medicaid and then re-enroll within a short period of time. Such disenrollments are expected to resume…
Medicaid Enrollment Churn and Implications for Continuous Coverage Policies December 14, 2021 Issue Brief Recent policy actions and proposals in Medicaid have renewed focus on the problem of churn, or temporary loss of coverage in which enrollees disenroll and then re-enroll within a short period of time. We find that 10% of full-benefit enrollees have a gap in coverage of less than a year, and rates are higher for children and adults compared to aged and people with disabilities. Churn has implications for access to care as well as administrative costs faced by states.
Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drug Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic December 14, 2021 Issue Brief This data note describes Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending trends in calendar year 2020 compared to previous years to explore how the pandemic impacted Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending.
Build Back Better Would Change the Ways Low-Income People get Health Insurance December 14, 2021 Issue Brief The Build Back Better Act would make a number of changes to the way people get health insurance and how health care is financed, including by temporarily closing the Medicaid coverage gap.
State Policies Expanding Access to Behavioral Health Care in Medicaid December 9, 2021 Issue Brief On KFF’s 21st annual Medicaid budget survey, all responding states reported at least one initiative to expand behavioral health care in Medicaid, including crisis service and other benefit expansions, initiatives to expand telehealth and address equity, and managed care changes.
Potential Costs and Impact of Health Provisions in the Build Back Better Act November 23, 2021 Issue Brief A summary of 10 of the major health coverage and financing provisions of the current Build Back Better Act, with discussion of the potential implications for people and the federal budget.
Build Back Better Would Reduce Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Payments and Limit Uncompensated Care (UCC) Pools in Non-Expansion States November 19, 2021 Blog The Build Back Better (BBB) Act proposes reducing disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments by 12.5% starting in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023 and places limits on Medicaid uncompensated care (UCC) pools for non-expansion states. This policy watch explains what these payments are, what changes have been tied to the ACA, and examines potential implications of changes included in the BBB.
Analysis Examines How States Can Use Medicaid Programs to Facilitate Access to Vaccines for Low-Income Children November 19, 2021 News Release As states expand COVID-19 vaccination efforts to reach newly eligible children ages 5 to 11, a new KFF analysis highlights several tools state Medicaid programs have at their disposal to increase access to, and take up of, vaccines among lower-income children. Among the key findings: States can request Medicaid administrative…
More Than 6 in 10 of the Remaining 27.4 Million Uninsured People in the U.S. are Eligible for Subsidized ACA Marketplace Coverage, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program November 19, 2021 News Release Recent policy attention has focused on efforts to reduce the number of uninsured people in the U.S. by expanding eligibility for coverage assistance, including enhanced premium subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace and filling the Medicaid “coverage gap.” A new KFF analysis shows that a majority of the…